Just got myself a DJI Mavic Pro, with the extra batteries etc. for £849. These were going for nearly £1500 just a few months ago. The Pro 2 is out, with a better camera, so the old stock is getting sold off.

DJI Mavic Pro Fly More £849

Been looking at a lot of youtube vids, really impressive control system, can do some really clever shit!

Looking forward to it.

Done my Flyer ID test, so just need to register the drone when it gets to me.

Enjoy – get a good practice area – plenty of space – stay away from Trees/high winds.

https://dronesafe.uk/ get the app and check the flying areas for restrictions.

Sounds like a great deal.

We do this sort of thing professionaly so I know a bit.

Looking at the Skydio 2 for a bit of MTB fun!

The Pro 2 is out

To be fair the Pro 2 came out 18 months ago. The Mavic pro 3 must be out relatively soon.

Enjoy it however.

The Pro 2 has been available for well over a year, in fact the Pro 3 is rumoured to be announced/available soon!! (possibly this month)

I bought one of the new Mavic Minis just before Christmas, as a bit of a toe in the water. It gets a bit of stick online for being not much more than a “flying selfie cam” but tbh that is exactly what I wanted it for, and it is great 😃 The main thing it can’t do that vs its bigger brothers is “follow me” (although that may come later in an unofficial capacity if they release an SDK for the drone).

Lots of useful info on the MavicPilots forum. Probably the most important thing to know (based on the number of people on that forum who’ve lost their drone on the maiden flight 😂) is how the RTH function actually works!

Been drone curious for ages and finally bit the bullet a few weeks back when I managed to snag a Mavic Mini with 20% off in one of ebays promotions. Nice little bit of kit and fits nicely in a bag to take out on the bike. Just hope they add active tracking on a future firmware update. Here’s a rough little edit I did when I first took it out.
https://youtu.be/4ckjk3xHlxI

^^^ very cool. Where is that? I like the fact that the stability of the drone & the gimbal produces pretty rock solid video, I need to master “cinematic” flying though which is a LOT harder than it appears. I think the trick is to use movement on a couple of different axis so it looks dynamic (like your spiral zooming out shot which looks cool), you need a lot of practice though to make the shots look smooth & not jerky.

From what I’ve read it’s very unlikely they’ll officially support tracking or waypoints but if they release an SDK like with previous drones then 3rd party control apps will be able to implement them.

Very very tempted by the Mini. Can’t justify the pro to myself sadly.

The other great thing about the Mini is due to size and relatively low power it makes a great indoor flyer if you’ve got a bit of space! Due to crap weather & illness I’ve practised flying mine indoors loads more than outside so far! It comes with prop guards so doesn’t mind being bounced off the walls etc while you get used to it!!

^^^ very cool. Where is that? I like the fact that the stability of the drone & the gimbal produces pretty rock solid video, I need to master “cinematic” flying though which is a LOT harder than it appears. I think the trick is to use movement on a couple of different axis so it looks dynamic (like your spiral zooming out shot which looks cool), you need a lot of practice though to make the shots look smooth & not jerky.

From what I’ve read it’s very unlikely they’ll officially support tracking or waypoints but if they release an SDK like with previous drones then 3rd party control apps will be able to implement them.

It’s on Stanage Edge. I’m totally new to them so not very good on the controls at the minute. As you say the weathers not helping at the minute so not getting much practice in. The spiral shot is one of the presets it has. Just lock on to a subject and hit go. The locking on a target thing is why people reckon active tracking is possible. It’s just whether DJI add it or keep it for the more expensive drones

, I need to master “cinematic” flying though which is a LOT harder than it appears. I think the trick is to use movement on a couple of different axis so it looks dynamic (like your spiral zooming out shot which looks cool), you need a lot of practice though to make the shots look smooth & not jerky.

I think the biggest no no is making mini adjustments once you have sent it on it’s way. If you want to use two axis in a shot it works best in tripod mod. I also find if you already have both axis ‘engaged’ as you begin the shot you can gently increase or decrease the amount but introducing an extra axis of motion mid shot rarely works without a big jerk.

Also, don’t forget the close up stuff – the really close up. Much of my footage is with the drone less than 3 or 4 foot from me like a film camera on a dolly. And try backwards rather than forwards – often visually more interesting to pull back and reveal rather than chase.

Interested in a mavic pro 2, or the 3 when it comes out but more for photography than film. A camera for landscape photography that can be placed where a tripod can’t.

Looking at the Skydio 2 for a bit of MTB fun!

Is it officially available in the UK?

Been drone curious for ages and finally bit the bullet a few weeks back when I managed to snag a Mavic Mini with 20% off in one of ebays promotions. Nice little bit of kit and fits nicely in a bag to take out on the bike. Just hope they add active tracking on a future firmware update. Here’s a rough little edit I did when I first took it out.

Nice, I can see my house in one of those shots B)

I have a much cheaper drone – the camera isn’t as great but flying it seems to be manageable. I haven’t taken it out on the bike though. How much faff time is there? I can imagine it’d slow you down a fair bit on rides?

Sam Reynolds is getting pretty into the drone side of things.

Is it officially available in the UK

Not seen it anywhere yet. Keeping an eye on imports.

It’s on Stanage Edge.

Be careful up there – the park authority has plenty of bye-laws to stop you flying.

Nice video – I’m jealous as I haven’t been able to fly my Mini anywhere decent since I bought it. Not allowed anywhere in London town 🙁

The tech is great and the options for good shots I get but I can’t help thinking if I was up at Stanage edge or somewhere quiet in the countryside and that drone was up there buzzing about it would have spoiled my day.

Not quite on the same level as jetskis and Mx bikes but some places the high pitched buzz of a drone buzzing you is just too much.

There, moan over. Just check where you can fly and practice rule no 1.

Flying drones on Peak District National Park land
Bye-laws exist on our own land which precludes the flying of model aircraft. In addition, some parts of our land ownership includes areas where drone flying is not permitted at certain times of year (generally March-August annually) due to the potential for disturbance to wildlife. This includes Stanage Edge.

As a general rule, permission for drone flying on our land is unlikely to be granted during the bird nesting season (March – August).

So it sounds like antares above might have been naughty – or at the very least needs exploring further (out of the months described but it is a model aircraft and I ‘think’ they own the bit you were fly on)…..if after checking it turns out you have I think prob wise to take down that footage though there is tons of it on YT from other people it seems.

Worth remembering the Peak National Park only own a tiny amount of land – so you could find private land and gain permission in the park.

They don’t control the airspace.

http://www.noflydrones.co.uk/ shows you the bit that is protected.

I wasn’t aware of any byelaws for the Peak District but I did have read of that on their website earlier after it was mentioned by @rone. As not all areas are owned by them you can seek permission from the land owner but due to data protection they can’t tell you who owns the land. The dji app does show restricted areas where you can’t fly like near airports and sports stadia so I assumed everywhere else was fair game, especially out in the Peak District. As for the noise the mini is pretty quiet and any passers by seemed quite interested in it rather than it being a nuisance to them

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Drones aren’t really that noisy when a fair distance away.

Just watch the wildlife in that area.

The tech is great and the options for good shots I get but I can’t help thinking if I was up at Stanage edge or somewhere quiet in the countryside and that drone was up there buzzing about it would have spoiled my day.

Not quite on the same level as jetskis and Mx bikes but some places the high pitched buzz of a drone buzzing you is just too much.

There, moan over. Just check where you can fly and practice rule no 1.

Most landowners seem to have a blanket bans on drone flying. National Trust, English Heritage, Forestry Commission, New Forest, etc etc.

The only places you can legally fly really are “registered Common Land” which is basically mountains e.g. Snowdonia etc. Obviously you still need to follow the drone code & be sensible.

So I just treat it the same way as when I’m riding my bike on a footpath – yeah it’s cheeky & technically not allowed, but if I can do it without upsetting/inconveniencing anyone then I’m not going to lose any sleep. Got some nice shots in the New Forest recently! Just waited until there was no-one about, no wildlife to disturb etc, got the shots quickly then packed it away. (The mini is ideal for this as it’s quick to deploy then stash away again 😃)

It’s quite loud when it’s low but up high you probably wouldn’t hear it at all. I’m well aware that a lot of people won’t like it though so I’m careful of when I use it (or will ask people first!) I think most people (except the most militant red socks) would probably find it more interesting than anything else, of course if we get to the stage when the skies are buzzing with them then that will probably change!

A good mate of mine takes his Mavic with him when he goes sea kayaking. He gets some lovely shots with it. e.g.

A good mate of mine takes his Mavic with him when he goes sea kayaking. He gets some lovely shots with it. e.g.

This was how I got the nearest to loosing mine. Thought it would be clever to launch it from the sea just off a beach of a remote hebridian island and get it to follow me. Plan was to land my kayak after filming and then land the drone back to my hand with me stood on the beach. Sadly I didn’t count on a rouge wave hitting me and splashing the controller. Controller stopped working and drone just sat in a hover over the water. 16 mins of waiting for the battery to run out and then it deciding to return to home over a random bit of water and me faffing about underneath waiting to snatch it out of the sky and shove it under my spray deck before getting swamped. Was not my finest hour.

So it sounds like antares above might have been naughty

I suspect the PDNP might be equally bothered about people riding on that section of Stanage… But really, you are suggesting a need to take footage off Youtube in case it falls foul of PDNP byelaws?

I see drones flying over Stanage / Burbage / Curbar etc fairly frequently. It’s not just Antares being (technically, very slightly) naughty.

But really, you are suggesting a need to take footage off Youtube in case it falls foul of PDNP byelaws?

There have been cases worldwide where people have been prosecuted on the evidence of footage they have uploaded but you are right normally for more serious offences. Most of the time it is landowners reporting footage to youtube as having been filmed contrary to local law or without permission and YT taking it down for you with a grumpy email to explain why and that further naughtiness might mean your account being deleted. This might have happened to ‘a friend’ when he was just getting started. Achem…..splutter, splutter. ‘My friend’ could dig out the email if you like. ‘My friends’ error was putting the location in the title making it easy to search for.

It is extremely unlikely any drone maker will include tracking on UK retail versions of their drones, simply because using any kind of auto-tracking fails to meet the requirements of the law (unless you have permission to fly commercially) : “You must keep the drone in your direct sight at all times while it is flying”; you can’t guarantee it won’t end up “within 50 meters (164 feet) of any person, property, vessel, vehicle, or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft” if it is simply following you.

The reason you shouldn’t fly drones over Stanage Edge is that it is a SSSI (and SAC / SPA etc: source: designated sites). Follow the link to the map and you can see most open access areas are also designated in some way or another; most of Snowdonia is designated too.

Flying drones on/above designated sites (e.g. Sites of Special Scientific Interest/SSSI)
Drones or model aircraft should not be flown on, or over Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs) without consent from Natural England. For guidance, much of the upland ‘Dark Peak’ area of the Peak District National Park is designated as SSSI land.

So you should gain permission from Natural England (or Natural Resources Wales or whoever the authority is for special designations) first, and you won’t get permission during the bird breeding season. TBH if you want to flout the rules and fly your drones, no-one is prosecuted for crimes against wildlife and even if they are prosecuted for far worse things, they get a £100 fine and a slap on the wrist. So you are all correct – there is basically no deterrent to being an arse and flying wherever you like. However, wouldn’t it be nice in these divided times if the people who enjoy getting out into the great outdoors might actually respect it and those of us who would like to enjoy it in peace.

It is extremely unlikely any drone maker will include tracking on UK retail versions of their drones,

Well that’s not true – loads do include (semi) autonomous flying capabilities (including the one OP bought!). The operator is still responsible for it whether it’s being piloted manually or autonomously.

I suspect it’ll end up being like dog owners. Most act fairly responsibly and considerately, others just do whatever they want with no regard for anybody else and end up giving the rest of them a bad name.

It is extremely unlikely any drone maker will include tracking on UK retail versions of their drones,

As said – it has been a pretty standard feature on uk retail drones for a while now – 4 years maybe. I think the nicest footage comes from half way house modes where they are available where the drone is responsible for keeping the object in the centre of the field of view and the pilot drives the drone. So for example the footage starts with a rider riding away from the drone and then the drone catches them up on a path parallel and then accelerates away facing backwards.

But straight follow me tracking is also possible. With third party apps flying between waypoints can also be achieved pretty autonomously.

I suspect it’ll end up being like dog owners mountain bikers car drivers people in general. Most act fairly responsibly and considerately, others just do whatever they want with no regard for anybody else and end up giving the rest of them a bad name.

FTFY 👍

Well I have been flying it over the weekend, got some great shots, had a few nervous moments, it’s quite stressful having several hundred pounds worth of fragile gear flying around the sky.

This drone is the Mavic Pro Platinum, a lot quieter than the original Mavic Pro.

Once the drone is at 25m, you can hardly hear it. At 50m you can’t hear a thing.

Perfect flying weather today, clear skies a few knots of wind. Cracking shot this morning.

it’s quite stressful having several hundred pounds worth of fragile gear flying around the sky.

You get used to it.

nce the drone is at 25m, you can hardly hear it. At 50m you can’t hear a thing

That won’t stop people moaning that you’re disturbing the wildlife/peace/their afternoon nap though.

The wildlife, on the other hand, absolutely will not GAS.

The wildlife, on the other hand, absolutely will not GAS.

Nesting season they can get freaked. I used to kite surf and the RSPB did ask us to not launch in certain areas for a couple of months.